NDS is Going Global
European/Nordic Instructors' Meeting held in Spain

The first NDS European and Nordic instructors' meeting at the University of Zaragoza - February 2008.

Back row: Mikail Falck (Finland), Carlos Gimenez (Spain), Elena Estebanez (Spain), Peter Ehlin Ulf (Sweden), Tuija Manttari (Finland), Prof. Orosia Lucha López (Spain), Kari Kiviniemi (Sweden), Elena Bueno Gracia (Spain), Sylvia Pérez (Spain), Octavio García (Spain), Alex Sapir (Israel), Cesar Hidalgo (Spain), Nicolas Bouisset (France), Alfio Albasini (Switzerland/Italy).

Front row: Ragnar Faleij (Sweden), Esra Levy (Israel), Michael Shacklock (Australia), Prof José Miguel Moreno Tricas (Spain), Olli Aranko (Finland).

NDS has been experiencing rapid growth over the last couple of years and, as a result, it has become impossible to keep up with demand for courses around the world. In response to this, we have taken steps toward franchising NDS internationally to specific groups so more courses are available in your' local country. We are training approximately 20 instructors from countries such as Spain, Finland, Israel, Sweden, France, Italy, Switzerland, USA, Israel, to name just some of the countries that have joined NDS.

One of the most significant moments in the development of NDS as a global provider of clinical neurodynamics education was a European and Nordic instructors' meeting held in Zaragoza, Spain, in February this year. The event lasted five days and was hosted by Professor José Miguel Moreno Tricas' department at the University of Zaragoza. The event was extremely successful, both from content and development points of view. We were given amazing Spanish hospitality with wine, cuisine and entertainment.

Furthermore, it was a most humorous week in which we left with a sense of community and commitments to provide the highest possible quality of neurodynamics education in an evidence based framework.

NDS wishes to thank each and every one of the instructors and we look forward to a long and productive future with the NDS team. As time passes we will have the biographies of the instructors on the NDS web site for your future reference.

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It's Here At Last - the Breig Book!

Biomechanics of the Nervous System: Breig revisited

New ReleaseAfter working with Alf and Mrs Breig over the last couple of years, it has finally arrived, the new book which is a compilation of his original work between the 1950s and 1978. The content includes in graphic detail his cadaver dissections, observations at surgery and clinical analyses and treatments of patients with mechanical disorders of the nervous system ranging from the cranial nerves, cerebral ventricles to the spinal cord, lumbar nerve roots and intrapelvic parts of the sciatic nerve and their interactions with musculoskeletal structures.

Hundreds of copies have been sold as pre-orders as this book promises to be very popular for both clinicians and researchers. Just to see how the nervous system moves is an experience. With hundreds of pictures on his observations and photoelastic models, this is truly a classic text from Dr Breig.

OMT SwedenBreig's work was in danger of being lost because it is no longer being printed by the original publishers. As such, NDS has obtained the copyright and agreed with Dr Breig and his wife Elisabeth to release his work again.

In association with the Orthopaedic Manual Therapy Division of the Swedish Association of Registered Physiotherapists, NDS Neurodynamic Solutions is proud to announce this new released book.

READ MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK HERE...

ORDER NOW! - Breig Book (Biomechanics of the Nervous System) Cost - $101.50 Australian Dollars plus Postage of approx. $9.50 worldwide - Publisher: Neurodynamic Solutions (NDS), Adelaide, South Australia - Editor: Michael Shacklock - Copyright: © NDS

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Alf Breig Memorial Lecture in Sweden

At the neural conference held by the Swedish OMT section: Left to right - Ragnar Faleij (president), Michael Shacklock (NDS), Mrs Elisabeth Breig-ÅsbergMany of you will have read our obituary of Dr Alf Breig, the founder of adverse neural tension. He passed away at the age of 96 and left a legacy that affected many in physical medicine.

Nevertheless, it became apparent that his work was in danger of being lost forever because the publishers of his two books no longer intended to continue printing his material. This seemed a tragedy so, in the two years prior to Dr Breig's passing, NDS had begun negotiations with Alf and his wife, Mrs Elisabeth Breig-Åsberg, to publish his work again.

However, before doing this we, along with the Swedish OMT Section (a division of the Swedish Association of registered physiotherapists), agreed to start a lecture in his name. With that, Michael Shacklock presented the Inaugural Alf Breig Memorial Lecture in Stockholm in September this year. This was part of a 'neural' conference held by the OMT section.

We were very fortunate to have the company of Mrs Breig who gave an emotional speech about Alf and his work and how excited they both were to have his work released again and to learn of his recognition by NDS and the Swedish OMT section. On the request of Dr Breig, Mrs Breig gave Michael a picture painted by Alf whilst on summer holiday in the 1960s.

We are grateful to Mrs Breig and the OMT section to have had this unique opportunity to be involved with formally recognizing Dr Breig for his lifelong investigation of the nervous system. He has eponymic status in the area of neurodynamics and, even though his life and work are celebrated, he will be greatly missed...

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NDS Goes Viking

Michael Shacklock in the compulsory dinner costume (Photo by Kristinn Magnússon).The final course for 2007 was held in tropical Reykjavik, Iceland, situated between Greenland and Norway. The weather was not as cold as it could have been! Ice was starting to form over night but the sun melted it quickly, something which the Icelandic people really like.

Picturesque mountains and countryside
Outdoor Hot TubThey said that they are looking forward to global warming because this will help their already burgeoning water export industry. With high rainfall and many rivers, they have particularly green methods of producing energy, geothermal from hot springs and hydro-electric.

Iceland is a traditional Viking nation with only 300,000 people in the entire country, dating back to approximately 1000 years since their people left Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia and even Ireland to settle there. Iceland was a Danish colony until relatively recently when it became an autonomous state. Iceland’s economy is growing rapidly with tourism being one of the boom industries.

Michael is coming back to speak at their national conference in 2009 which promises to be a great success. So if you plan to go on a holiday and combine it with professional development, consider Iceland. The country is beautiful for sight seeing and the people are very friendly and wonderful hosts.

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Michael Shacklock receives Award for his Book, 'Clinical Neurodynamics'

Just AwardedThe Australian Physiotherapy Association has awarded Michael Shacklock, a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists (FACP) through original contribution by monograph. Such awards are rare in physiotherapy and it was happily received by Michael at the National Physiotherapy Conference in Cairns in October. It was presented by Professor Gwendolyn Jull, the Chairperson of the College, who has been a luminary and recognized international leader in physiotherapy for many years.

Michael said on receiving notice of the fellowship: "I'm ecstatic about this. I didn't really write the book for recognition but, now that it has successfully passed the peer review process, I am absolutely thrilled at its success on both international and local levels. I'm truly humbled by this and am very grateful for the acceptance of the book as a valuable contribution to both the profession and people with neurodynamic problems. These disorders cause much suffering and disability and to have this book contribute to solutions in this area is a great pleasure".

Michael Shacklock's text book for health professionals on diagnosis and treatment of pinched nerves is an international best seller, has been taught in approximately 30 countries and is an accepted text book in many universities and professional associations around the world.

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Neuroscientist with Attitude! Who was Santiago Ramón y Cajal?

Ramón y CajalSantiago Ramón y Cajal was a Nobel prize winning doctor whose work in the neurosciences profoundly influenced our understanding of the central nervous system (CNS). Born in the province of Aragon, Spain, Ramón y Cajal (1852-1932) graduated as a medical doctor at the University of Zaragoza (pronounced Tharagotha in Spanish) in 1873 and from Madrid University, later receiving a professorship in Valencia.

His rebellious behaviour landed him in jail at the age of eleven for destroying the town gate with a home made canon.

Like many innovators, he was considered pugnacious but this demeanor eventually led him to make discoveries that would change our understanding of the nervous system forever. Cajal's contemporary, Camillo Golgi developed a histological silver staining technique for marking neurons. Golgi stated that the CNS was made up of a continuous reticular 'mesh' somewhat like the vascular system.

Handdrawn NervesBut Cajal, had a different view. Based on his discoveries under the microscope, he argued that, rather than the CNS being made up of such a continuous mesh, it was operated by billions of nerve cells that communicated through polarization.

He also thought that these neurons talked to each other at 'specialised junctions'. He believed this because his discoveries using Golgi's staining technique showed different kinds of nerve cells and even terminals that appeared to span gaps between the cells.

These gaps were later called 'synapses' by Sherrington and subsequently became the mainstay of neural processing, still an integral aspect of modern neuroscience.

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NDS España

NDS EspañaIt was with great pleasure that NDS presented its first course in Spain in August this year.

The event was held by the University of Zaragoza in the province of Aragon, famous for a rich history, fantastic tapas and, of course, Ramón y Cajal.

Professor José Miguel Moreno Tricas hosted the course which was attended by therapists with OMT, osteopathic and graduate physiotherapy training.

Through the University of Zaragoza, NDS has agreed to hold courses at many locations throughout Spain. We are excited to announce that NDS will train several therapists for teaching in Spain over the next few years so courses will be available in Spanish.

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NDS Receives Gifts from Spanish Parliament

(left to right) Alfio Albasini (Switzerland), Professor José Miguel Tricas (Spain), Michael Shacklock (Australia/NZ) after receiving their gift from the Spanish parliament of Aragon.Alfio Albasini is training as an NDS instructor and he assisted Michael Shacklock at the University of Zaragoza.

They were fortunate enough to take a detailed look at the local castle and enter the Parliament of Aragon.

On leaving the tour, Michael and Alfio were very honoured to each receive a gift from the Head Minister of the Aragon Parliament in the form of a trilogy of books on Ramón y Cajal, a very proud moment for NDS.

We are very grateful to Professor Tricas for the opportunity to visit and present at Zaragoza and look forward to a long and fruitful future with his group at Zaragoza.

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Spanish Book Translation Released

Spanish TranslationThe Spanish translation of Clinical Neurodynamics has been released and is selling like hot cakes to therapists in Spain and South America.

As such, the first course in Zaragoza, Spain, is being held in July with Professor José Moreno Tricas' group.

The course and manual will be translated into Spanish and is set to be fully subscribed.

It is a five-day course so the practical hands-on component will definitely be the main focus.

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Portugal - First NDS Course

Mr João Abreu and Michael ShacklockThe first NDS Course was held in Braga, near Porto, Portugal. With the translation of Clinical Neurodynamics into Portuguese, Michael signed some books and T-shirts, spoke at the 2007 National Portuguese and Spanish Physiotherapy Conference and conducted a pre-conference NDS workshop on the upper quarter arranged by the Mr João Filipe Vasconcelos Abreu.

There was a waiting list for places so NDS will return to Portugal to do lower and other courses in Lisbon. If you are going to Portugal for a holiday, make it a tax deduction and take in some holiday neurodynamics. The Portuguese love manual therapy and NDS supports this enthusiasm.

More translations of the book into other languages are on the way and we’ll keep you updated as they arrive.

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Neurodynamic Solutions (NDS) shoots hoops with the Chicago Bulls - no bull!

Michael with Bulls Player Andres Nicione
Al Vermiel and Chicago Bulls PlayerMichael Shacklock capped off a fantastic year for NDS by visiting the Chicago Bulls Basketball Club on the invitation of Al Vermeil (Strength and Conditioning Consultant) who has worked with the Chicago Bulls for a number of years.

The visit was to discuss the possibility of nerves being involved in the elite basket baller, such as with hamstring and calf strains. We covered possible screening techniques, diagnosis and treatment approaches that could be applied at a high level of sensitisation for the athlete whose movement and performance are at such a high level that small problems can become big problems. Sensitisation (level 3c, p 113 of Michael's book) techniques particularly were discussed and various exercises and treatment options were exchanged.

It was a great thrill to see this wonderful club and how it functions, and particularly meet up with Al Vermeil. He has been in the sports performance area for decades and has a wealth of experience to share with young learners like Michael.Top

NDS Course with Athletico

The team at Athletico. From left to right: Michael Shacklock, Grant Koster, Chad Brenzikofer, Nik Allain, Tracy BugielskiWhilst in Chicago, the Athletico Physical Therapy Franchise held the NDS Upper Quarter Course. Thanks to Tracy Bugielski and Grant Koster (Facility Managers with Athletico) who did a fantastic job of co-ordinating the course and provided such an excellent facility in Oak Brook. If you are a golfer, this place has got it because that's what they specialise in. Athletico now have 35 centers in the Chicago region and are growing all the time.

The course was oversubscribed so some people were disappointed not to get on the course, but we will be back later this year (do see the NDS Global Teaching Program for more information on this). We were assisted by Chad Brenzikofer who has been training with Michael and is developing into a fully fledged NDS assistant. We're really looking forward to having Chad do more courses and what we particularly value are his hands-on skills, intelligent approach to Clinical Neurodynamics and his level of commitment which is second to none.

Chad also teaches courses with Performance Stability and Kinetic Control whose emphasis is motor control, exercise techniques and rehabilitation.

For more information see:
MM Therapies: www.mmtherapies.com
Performance Stability: www.performancestability.com
Kinetic Control: www.kineticcontrol.comTop

Blame it on Rio - NDS and Elsevier launch Book Translation in Brazil

New Book translated into PortugueseBom dia para todos! NDS and Elsevier launched a Portuguese translation of Clinical Neurodynamics in Brazil on October 06. Congratulations to Dan Pilderwasser and Marcelo Viana! They miraculously did the technical translation for Michael Shacklock's book (120,000 words) in several months, specifically to launch the book at the Inaugural CIRNE Conference held in Rio de Janeiro.

This was an especially big achievement since the world cup football was on at the time of the translation and everyone knows that Brazil stops when the world game is played.

NDS also held a four-day course to coincide with the conference which was a big success, considering the conference was the first of its kind in Brazil. Michael spoke about his new clinical neurodynamics system at the conference and signed books as purchasers sought to get their books autographed.

Marcelo Viana and Dan Pilderwasser are NDS instructors for the Brazil division of NDS. If you are interested in holding or participating in a course in Brazil, please contact us by e-mail:

NDS Head Office: admin@neurodynamicsolutions.com or
NDS Brazil: fisioterapia@hsamaritano.com.br

Obrigado!Top

Gregory Grieve Memorial Lecture presented by Michael Shacklock

Another highlight of 2006 for NDS was Michael giving the Gregory Grieve Memorial Lecture in London. As keynote speaker for the Manipulation Association of Chartered Physiotherapists Conference on Neural Integrity Testing, he spoke on the development and progress of neurodynamic testing, including the point that Gregory Grieve actually wrote one of the first peer-reviewed papers on neurodynamic tests (1970).

In this article he discussed the notion of sensitivity of neural tissues being a factor in the responses to neurodynamic tests and whether spinal mobilisation could influence these mechanisms. Ahead of the play, Grieve was right to raise the subject because sensitivity of neural tissues is now a key facet of clinical neurodynamics.

Michael has created a diagnostic algorithm for neurodynamic diagnosis which is now being integrated into clinical practice in many corners of the globe. Top